In April 1981, John Young — America’s premier astronaut and one of only 12 people to ever walk on the Moon — was training with co-pilot Bob Crippen for STS-1, the maiden voyage of space shuttle ...

It was just about noon. The sky was clear. The air was warm. Then a deafening rumble meant it was time. Columbia had launched and a new, more practical, more liberating era in space exploration had ...

See more of our trusted coverage when you search. Prefer Newsweek on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search. A revolution in space travel came to NASA on April 12, 1981—the space ...

HOUSTON — NASA's first space shuttle launch, 35 years ago, demonstrated that a winged orbiter could lift off like a rocket and land like an airplane, able to fly again. For the two astronauts who flew ...

ORLANDO, Fla., April 9 (UPI) --The 40th anniversary Monday of the first orbital flight of a space shuttle -- Columbia -- evokes the accomplishments of the program, but also a grim reminder of ...

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On April 12, 1981, astronauts John Young and Robert Crippen blasted off on the maiden voyage of the space shuttle program inside the orbiter Columbia. It was the first of 135 shuttle launches. The ...